Can we Boomers beautify? I think so. We can do it in our own way. Like many other boomers, I grew up with a back-to-earth mentality and ambitions of homesteading: Harrowsmith was on my night table as exciting reading material! We learned early on that it takes more than one person and my husband worked full time, so we never had the homesteading experience. I relate this only so you can see that ‘nature girl’ is where I’m coming from. Well, not just nature girl. I do okay in the city too. But, the truth of the matter is that I’ve spent most of my younger years working at home and I never got the habit of putting makeup on every day.

I am also blessed with good skin. This is my own assessment: I am sure a professional would see plenty of things to ‘fix’. My evaluation of good skin is it is clear. I’m sun sensitive which means I almost always have a hat on, or sunglasses, so I don’t have a lot of sun damage.

sans makeup

Now, at 60, I am seeing changes in the mirror. At certain angles and under certain lights, I see the face of my crone years. I am not talking about the crows feet and laugh lines. Those I consider part of my character. I am talking about the lines along my cheek bones, and the skin that wants to go south. It is shocking and fascinating at the same time to see these glimpses of the future, and it makes me wonder which is my real face. Is the one in my home mirror false and the sagging one what everyone else sees?

When we get to this stage in life, there are a couple of options. One option is to get anti-aging serums and/or procedures. Another option is to let nature takes it’s course. Another option is to have a bit of fun with it. Maybe, a boomer in her 60s can embrace aging by wearing some makeup to enhance, and enchant – even if it is only myself – because what I think about me, matters. Looking at myself without a bit of makeup on, sometimes I look tired. That’s not the way I feel inside. At 60 I am excited by possibilities and the way I look could reflect that. I am ready to boomer beautify!

Pro-Aging Products

With this in mind I saw an advertisement for pro-aging makeup – Boom! by Cindy Joseph. It explains that as we age, we need to stay away from powdery and chalky products that settle into those lines, and use creamy and transparent products.

Cindy Joseph was on my radar for a long time through her modeling career. I didn’t know her name, but I adored the photos of a beautiful long-silver-haired woman. Cindy Joseph was was a makeup artist, then a model, and now a cosmetic designer. Her website advertises “a pro-age cosmetic line for women of every generation.” I really wanted to try the products and Cindy Joseph company generously sent me the Boomstick trio and Boomsilk lotion to review.

I was ready to review them five minutes after I put them on my skin for the first time, but I’ve held off to really get to know the products, because I haven’t used blush or eye makeup for a very long time. I’m more of an lip gloss and eyeliner and go kind of person. And now, even if I did want to use something to brighten up skin which hasn’t seen much sun in six months, knowing about those deep lines I glimpse has made me wary of whatever I use looking unnatural. I am also sensitive to products with fragrance. Boom! products have no added fragrance that I can detect. It does have a slight bees wax/olive oil smell which I don’t mind. So, without further ado, here are the products and how I’ve been using them.

Boomsilk

The product which I thought I’d use least, I’m using every morning on my face, neck, and upper chest. The best part of this product is the ingredient list:

On my skin it leaves a slight shimmer after I put it on similar to using olive oil directly on my skin, but in a better, dewy feeling way (note: my skin tends to be on the dry side.) The shimmer eventually fades but the dewy feeling remains. For a week I tried using Boomsilk in the morning and at night but I found that was too much for my skin. An additional dab on my lips at night is perfect.

Around my eyes, I have learned that for me to just put it on my brow bone and not my lid. When I did that I got itchy eyes (but my eyes are crazy sensitive so it may just be me) and it is also easy to apply too much. As the website says, a little goes a long way. I haven’t used it as a whole body moisturizer because my skin doesn’t really need it.

I am curious to find out how this project will feel in the summer, but for the winter it feels gorgeous.

Boomstick Glo

Boomstick Glo is a solid version of Boomsilk with the same ingredient list as above. I carry this in my bag and use it as lip balm throughout the day, and you can use it for spot moisturizing. I like that I can carry only one product. It would be great though if it also came in a lip balm size as well, to slip into a pants pocket. My lips feel great and I think it is a better choice than anything else I’ve been using.

Boomstick Color

Boomstick Color is an all-in-one sheer cosmetic stick that works on all skin tones. I use it as to highlight my cheekbones and lips. It looks good on my lids too. The best results I’ve had for my lips is by using a lip brush. When I just apply it with my fingertip the product doesn’t seem to last as long and my lips feel more on the dry side. However a brush gives an even and thicker coating which lasts as long as any other lip tint I’ve tried (and my standard is Burt’s Bees grade).

Like any other cosmetic that is tinted, the ingredient list is long, and you can look it up here. What I like about this product, especially on my cheeks, is that my freckles show through. It doesn’t look (to me, anyway) like I have a product on my face. I just look healthy and definitely not tired looking. The lip is a little bolder for day time (for me) though I think it looks good.

Boomstick Glimmer

At first I applied it as a highlighter with Boomstick Color. (I have it on my brow bone in the photo above with the red lip.) Then I tried it on the inner corner of my eyes.

Then I got wild with it and am using it on its own for a day look, on my cheek bones, temple and lips. I like the effect on my lips (remember 60s frosted lips? That is a look not everyone call pull off.) This, to me, feels like just the right shade of a natural pink and just enough glam and fun.

You can purchase all products separately or as kits. The three Boomsticks can be bundled (Boomstick Trio) and come in a gauze pouch. It it a better value purchasing the bundles. If I had to choose just one, I’d get Boomstick Colour because of it’s versatility. Here is a short video from Cindy Joseph on choosing which product to start with.

Product Summary

To sum it all up, although I’ve called this post Boomers Beautify, beauty by conventional standards isn’t something I am aiming for. (I like alliteration, what can I say?) For beauty you have to consider the definition. Inner beauty, I say yes. Some current fashion versions of beauty, I say, is a hard thing to live up to and one that has made many sisters feel ‘less’. What I love about Boom! and Cindy Joseph, is if you visit her website you will see all kinds of women, glowing with confidence. And isn’t that what we want? That to me, is beautiful.

Boom! is most everything I wanted it to be, with a moisturizer as natural as you can get, and a one-stick product (or two) that satisfies my desire to give mother nature a little boost. (My wish list is pocket sized products for on-the go and no need to carry a purse).

To be perfectly frank, I’m having more fun with cosmetics than I ever thought I would.

Disclaimer: this is an unsolicited review of Boom! products. I contacted the company to see if I could purchase samples for review and I was generously sent full size products which has allowed me to really take my time and test the products.

It takes immense courage to be our own best friends, but it’s part of finding inner peace and living life to the fullest. In our culture, we’re taught that it’s okay to say things like “I love chocolate,” “I love rainbows,” or “I love hiking,” but if you say “I love myself,” there’s often an uncomfortable silence. We’re taught that loving ourselves is selfish and egotistical.”

I recently reread Denise Linn’s (my Soul Coach and Interior Alignment™ Teacher) book, The Soul Loves the Truth. It is a terrific book: It is intimate and healing, one of those books where you can pick it up anywhere and find help and wisdom within its pages. It is also really good for helping you solve problems, especially if you take time to do the exercises.

For example, this time of year, as we move into Autumn, I often begin having an inner debate about turning the heating on. It is one of those inner dialogues we have with ourselves that do not make a lot of sense and I really didn’t understand why it was an issue for me. I read Chapter 4, Your Thoughts Affect your Abundance, and in doing the exercise, I acknowledged that the reason I didn’t want to turn my heat on is because of the higher electricity bill I would get. Of course this is quite a common concern we all have and in my mind I decided I would hold off as long as possible.

It sounds reasonable but doesn’t take into consideration that some years are warm long into the fall, and other years it turns cold and rainy earlier. When I did the exercises for Chapter 4, I saw clearly how I was being counter productive. When I am cold I do not feel like working, and working less has an impact on my finances.

I did the suggested guided visualization exercise, imagining my home comfortably warm. I am content and very productive and with all the extra work I am doing I have more than enough money to pay the electricity bill. It is a good investment in myself.

Then I read Chapter 5 Cherishing Yourself, and thought about what my decision said for my self-worth. After all I wouldn’t let a visitor in my house feel cold. Isn’t it strange how we ‘put up’ with situations and feelings, like we do not matter? Shouldn’t our own needs take precedence … like putting on our own oxygen mask before helping a child with theirs?

In the Law of Attraction, what we think about we attract to ourselves, so if we would like others to treat us well, we must learn to cherish ourselves so that we send out that vibration. This book helps you to tune into your subconscious thought patterns so that you can become more deliberate about the ‘vibes’ you send out. I love this book and highly recommend it!

Excerpt from Odyssey of the Heart: Paths to Wholeness through Feng Shui by Deborah Redfern.

Afew years ago, I decided to do a vision quest. Although I wanted to do it, I wasn’t fully committed and part of me was resisting. On the day I set aside for the quest I woke up totally out of sorts. It was late winter — cold and drizzling outside. I decided not to do it that day. Relieved to be off the hook, I made a cup of tea and settled in to watch the birds in the garden.

My eye caught an unusual shape in the apple trees close to our house. It was a hawk. In the seven years we’d lived in this house, I had never seen a hawk in the garden. In fact, it was the first time I’d ever seen one up close. The hawk was intent on catching one of the chickadees that came to visit the bird feeder on our deck.

It swooped from branch to branch while the chickadees stayed just out of reach. After almost a half an hour of this dodging game, the little birds flew off into the woods and the hawk went in pursuit. It was such an unusual sight that I thought it must be a big sign for me and I decided to go ahead with my vision quest.

By the time I got everything I needed together, the sky was clear blue and the sun was shining. The snow that was still on the ground was sparkling. It turned out to be a splendid day to spend outdoors in an extended meditation. As I went into my quest space with my drum, the hawk returned to the apple tree. He stayed for a few moments and then flew away, and I never saw it in our garden again. I felt he was checking up on me to see if I had listened to his message! Just as I was finishing my quest I had another bird visitation; three ravens flew overhead, croaking loudly. Where we live Ravens sightings are rare, and I finished my quest feeling very fortunate for the double blessing.

A few days later, I was thumbing through my notebook and found an animal totem reading I had done about six months earlier. Using my Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson, I had done the nine power animal reading that gives a person the animal helpers they have with them for this lifetime.

The first card I got for this reading was the Hawk. According to the Medicine Cards, Hawk is a messenger, telling us to be aware of the signals we receive. The second card I drew was the Raven. Raven carries the medicine of magic that signals a change of consciousness of some kind. I was in awe because I had totally forgotten about this reading I had done. It made the messages I received while on my quest all the more poignant.

Search for:

Categories

Instagram Feed

About Me

I was born at the peak of the baby boom and got to experience being a flower child only because my very small hometown caught up to the rest of the world so slowly. I have been a lifelong writer and reader, with aspirations of being a renaissance woman.